Crisis Alert

We respond to an average of 30 natural disasters and humanitarian crises worldwide each year, establish long-term recovery projects and bring disaster preparedness programs to vulnerable communities. Every day, Americares is ready. Today, we are monitoring and assessing these emerging crises.

Responding to the Madagascar Cyclone

The Deadly Storm

With the power of a category 4 hurricane, the strongest cyclone to hit Madagascar in 13 years made landfall on the northeastern coast of the island nation on Tuesday, March 7. Cyclone Enawo produced large amounts of rain, causing dangerous flash flooding and mudslides throughout the week.

Most of the country’s roads are dirt which limited access to the most affected regions. More than 80 people died, and more than 247,000 were displaced. With widespread agricultural damage, food availability becomes a challenge in remote areas cut off by damaged roads, with people suffering the loss of substance crops and household food supplies. The floods damaged 104 health facilities and destroyed 16.

Restoring Health Care

Our emergency team made an initial delivery of supplies to a community center housing survivors and responding as needed to support other critical services. The team supplied typhoid treatment medication and supplies to a hospital that serves an area of 250,000 people, In addition, the team coordinated emergency repairs to two health facilities damaged and rendered inoperable in the storm: a community health center and a TB clinic. Repairs have been completed on both facilities.

The community health center provides treatment to patients who walk from as far as 10 hours by foot, serving a catchment area of 9,000 people. The TB clinic has ten beds for a disease that requires a longer term stay in a facility, treating up to 150 patients with TB per year.

Maromandia Community Health Center suffered severe roof damage, with the storm destroying most of its medical supplies and effectively shutting down the clinic.

Roof repairs to the Maromandia Community Health Center were followed by a restocking of the pharmacy and the reopening of this critical facility.

Children playing in front of the only latrine serving a shelter housing 540 people whose homes were damaged or destroyed by the cyclone.

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